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Published: September 16th 2008
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Roman Emporer
circa 2nd or 3rd century AD Now, I´m in Seville, yes that Seville, the one with the Barber. But I feel like I´ve been on a drive-by tourism tour, blasting through the country on single day whistle stops since leaving Valencia.
Departed Valencia on Wednesday, September 10 for Cartagena, in what turned out to be a long, tiring, travel day. One intercity train and two regional trains later, I arrived at the historic city of Cartegena, so named because the Carthaginians modelled it after the capital, Carthage, in Africa, in 229 BC by General Hasdrubal. Actually called Qast Hadast when built. The harbour area is situated in a most strategic location on the Meditteranean Sea, naturally protected by 5 hills. His son Hannibal, embarked upon a campaign to take Rome in the 2nd Punic War, by crossing the Alps by elephant. Knowing that Cartegena was lightly garrisoned by only 1000 troops, the Romans mounted a surprise attack from the sea. Cartagena fell to Roman General Cornelius Scipio in 209 BC. Later the Visigoths laid waste and sacked the city in 623 AD. During the 7th century, the area was repopulated by the Moors in their settlement of the Iberian Peninsula. Rushing around trying to take in
the sights before sundown, I was able to see remnants of the ancient Punic wall and the Funeral Crypt of the Brotherhood of San Jose, used much later in the 16th to 19th centuries.
The next day, I spent some time exploring the Roman Theatre and Museum. The six thousand seat theatre is one of the finest surviving examples in the world, and in addition to providing entertainment for the local populace, was used for political and religious promotions.
Also, in the harbour is a 22 metre iron submersible on display, invented by Lt. Isaac Peral y Caballero in the 1880s.
I caught the 1145 bus to Murcia, which gave me some time to explore the city before pressing onto Guadix. I discovered an all-you-can-eat buffet near the famous Cathedral, Fresc Co Restaurante, for only 8.90 Euros. I think I have finally conformed my eating habits to local customs. Because you can´t find supper at our customary time of 6:00 pm, I´ve taken to gorging myself on the Almuertzo offerings in the afternoon siesta period from about 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm or so. Then in the evening, I´ll find a local bar offering tapas (snacks) to
go with a beer. I see the value of the seista period when shops close down, all commerce ceases, even the museums close down, during the heat of the day.
From Murcia, I caught the 1630 bus for Guadix, and four hours later, the bus driver dropped me off on the street, with no map, no information, and no reservation. I asked around and was able to find the Barrio de Cuevas, up in the hills where the cave people live. I finally found Alojamientos en Cuevas de Maria, and like the 2000 plus cave residences in the area, which is the largest concentation of cave dwellings in Europe, is dug out of the clays, with one door exit for ventilation and egress. Pretty cool, quiet and dark, making me feel pretty much like a Hobbit in the Lord of the Rings. The party was next door though at Meson Cueva Virgen de Gracia. I made friends with Carlos and the rest of the family operated business. I wasn´t able to get to sleep too early. Actually, the place reminds me of Coober Peddy in the Australian outback, where I also stayed in an underground hostal in 2003.
Submersible
Invented by Lt. Isaac Peral y Caballero The next day, after a restful sleep, I explored the area in greater detail and the surreal living conditons. Little white chimneys sticking out of the ground all over the place, so it felt pretty strange walking all over the neighbours rooftops! Mª Paz, (Mary of Peace), local guide, is a wealth of knowledge working at the Cave Museum. After the Spanish Reconquest in 1492, the Moors who converted to Christianity were evicted from their homes in the city proper. So they took to the hills, digging out the clays for their homes, and fashioning pottery with the surplus. Mª Paz demonstrated a strange local instument, the Zambomba, made from a clay pot with a skin stretched across it, and a stick pushed through the centre of the skin, which is then pulled back and forth making an unusual sound. The Cave Museum was actually in use until the 1970s with no running water, no bathroom, and the livestock were brought inside during the nights!
After these explorations, I was back on the bus, this time for Granada, last outpost of the Moorish Iberian empire. I would have stayed more than the one night, but the guidebook hostal was
booked out, as usual. I spent the early part of the evening on the Bus Turistic to get orientated to the city. I ended up in a tapas bar for my evening snack. With every drink, you receive free snacks, that change with every drink, so as not to get bored with the meal. But after 3 plates of food, I had to cry Uncle!
On Saturday, the 13th, began my explorations of the world famous La Alhambra, magnificent Moorish palace and fortifications that evoke tales of legends and dreams, as Washington Irving wrote about the place when he stayed here early in the 19th century. As the age old saying goes, "If you die without seeing the Alhambra, you have not lived!" In the elegant Palicio Nazaries, ornate glazed tiles adorn the walls along with detailed wall carvings and engravings. Unfortunately, my camera battery gave out in the beautifully tranquill gardens of El Generallife and the ancient Cyprus trees there.
At the Palacio de Carlos V, a square building with a 2 tiered, inner circular courtyard, there is an exibition of works of celebrated artists such as Pablo Picasso. I saw his watercolour and crayon on paper
presentation of "Seated Woman" done in 1913. The best I can say about this abstract cubism style is that it was quite interesting.
Gypsies hang out at all the major attractions offering olive branches to visitors and to provide fortune-telling services.
The backdrop to Granada are the Sierra Nevada mountains, and at over 3000 plus metres high, was the supply of snow in the hot summer days, to provide cold treats for the locals in days gone by. Granada is also vying for a winter Olympics at some point in the future.
I quit the Ahlambra in plenty of time to catch a train to Seville, but it almost didn´t work out due to a comedy of language errors. I had just missed the recommended city bus, so asked one of the next ones if he went to the train station. He nodded in the affirmative and some time later, I ended up at the bus station! I took another bus back that was supposed to go by the train station, but wasn´t informed of the correct stop. When I got back to where I started from, downtown, I got off and humped my backpack as fast
as I could, just managing to get onboard the train in only 10 minutes!
My next entry will be from Tarifa, on the Straits of Gibralter, where I will tell the tales of Seville in better detail.
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